never seen either, and should therefore say the Festive is un-

niistakeable. It is all green on the back, with a ridge of brown

feathers across the beak and a bright red rump. It is this bri ght

red patch (which causes the French to call it l’Amazone a dos

rouge) which makes it so very unmistakeable. I observe that

Russ gives it a poor character as a talker, but I suspect that it is

a question of sex: that the birds I had, and the birds he saw,

were hens, while Dr. Greene’s bird was probably a cock. As I

have as little idea how the sexes may be distinguished, as I have

how to tell the cock Blue-fronted from the hen, 1 can only r say

that I would not buy a Festive unless I knew it could talk. But

if an aviculturist should come across one which was tame, gentle

and talked, he probably’ might buy many a worse Parrot as a

talking pet.


I forgot, I had a third Festive. It was a bird all yellow,

belonging to a man in a Midland County. I had it on approval

as a marvellous talker, and a talker in many languages. It was

very vicions, and never said a word. I wrote to the man, but

could get no answer. At last I found he was in gaol. I was

rather puzzled what to do. Had the bird been attractive, or

even decently^ civil,I would havekeptit until the man re-appeared.

But a thoroughly^ vicious bird ? No ! (By-the-wayq none of

these three birds ever screamed or made any noise in particular).

At last I handed it to the police, and let them settle the matter.

This bird may have been a cock, because it was good-tempered

with women.


Many other Amazons are about the same size as these

three, to wit, Dufresne’s, the Green-cheeked, pretrei, lilacina ,

diademcita, finschi, autumnalis, panamensis . but as I have never

had any of them, or known anyone who has kept them as

pets, and as these notes purport to tell my experiences, I say r

nothing about them, and shall pass on to a smaller size of

Amazon still.


I wall take these smaller ones in the order in which they r

come in the British Museum Catalogue, and, as they^ are less

common than the ones I have hitherto described, it may be

convenient to those who have not the Catalogue by T them, if I

describe them.


First of all comes Chrysotis vittata. A specimen was

exhibited at the Show held at the Crystal Palace in Odtober, and

there was a specimen the other day at the Zoological Gardens.

It was so like the one at the Palace that it may have been the-

same. Both were very excited when one talked to them, and



